EMI VP Comes Out Against SOPA/PIPA; Says The Answer To Piracy Is Providing A Better Service
from the promote-this-guy dept
Over the years, I've definitely found that there are plenty of folks working inside the major record labels (and big studios) who really do get what's going on. The problem is often that their voices are drowned out by others (usually the older guard) who are pretty stubborn in their anti-innovation, anti-consumer ways. It's always nice, however, when someone from the inside pops up and says something sensible in public, and those folks deserve kudos. The latest is Craig Davis, EMI's VP of Urban Promotions. He recently did a Reddit AMA (for you non-Redditors -- a Q&A session), in which someone asked him his opinion of SOPA/PIPA/ACTA, and he gave a really reasonable answer:Personally, I feel that the method they're using is incorrect. All it will do will cause headaches and issues for everyone.The reference to Gabe Newell, of course, concerns Newell's regular speeches about how you compete with piracy by providing a better service -- something Newell's Valve has done quite well over the years.
However, I do believe that a person should be compensated for their work. I feel that piracy is a big issue, and things like Spotify will assist in combating this problem.
Gabe Newell is correct, it's a service issue not an issue of money. Sales have gone up from sales concerts and merchandise, it's obvious that our fans still love music. We're just not giving them their music in an easier way.
Davis has it exactly right here. The only thing that's been shown to work over the years as a method of dealing with widespread infringement is to offer a better service. Things like SOPA/PIPA/ACTA will cause lots of problems... and won't do a damn thing to slow down infringement. EMI is in the process of being swallowed up by Universal Music, so who knows what happens here, but if I was in charge at Universal, I'd give Davis a nice promotion. Tragically, however, in my experience, the folks who do get these things from within the major labels frequently end up outside the major labels before too long....
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Filed Under: competing, craig davis, infringement, pipa, piracy, protect ip, sopa
Companies: emi
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After all of this time it would be nice to see people like this put in charge, rather than those who cling to and long for the olden days when they were pressing albums.
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I feel that Piracy is a big problem...
I'm starting to think that this phrase is used to smooth the feathers of those who still think that piracy is a big problem so they might actually listen to the rest of the statement where the real (and possibly heretical) answer shows up. Let's face it, there's still a lot of people who'll blow an aneurysm if you try to say that piracy isn't the problem, outmoded business models are, but when you put it this way:
"I feel that piracy is a big problem, and the solution is providing our products to customers in affordable and convenient ways."
Not so bad right?
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Re: I feel that Piracy is a big problem...
I think that piracy is a big problem, and you should try cutting back on fast food and start exercising for 15 minutes every day to lose a few pounds.
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Re: Re: I feel that Piracy is a big problem...
I think that piracy is a big problem, but the solution is a /better/ business model.
I'm sure Marcus/DH will look at this and laugh their arses off ;)
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Re: I feel that Piracy is a big problem...
http://news.yahoo.com/us-military-raid-somalia-frees-american-dane-063438091.html
The US military had to send in seals in a raid to rescue US hostages held by pirates.
I can't wait to see what lengths we'll go to for turning back the clock to the monopoly record pressing days. And get rid of that pesky internet! And get off my lawn!
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There is a Transformers 3?
Wasn't Transformers 1 bad enough?
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I imagine that the pirates holding those US hostages thought they were completely safe when they heard about the raid. "Aw mate, its nuthin' to worry 'bout. Them troops are lookin' for Kim Dotcom, not us."
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Re: Re: I feel that Piracy is a big problem...
Piracy wasn't a really big problem until "On Stranger Tides." Before then, it was kind of fun.
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I think you five year entertainment fast has clouded your judgement. You have reached the point where rotten potatoes are manna from heaven.
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Sometimes I wonder why companies don't push for more laws outlawing performance reports.
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Re: kerberos
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"Oh, great! Stricter laws! That...could be used against US? Oh, wait..."
Not that such a concept stopped them before, but...I dunno, maybe I give them too much credit.
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If this were the only questionable example of their actions, I might be inclined to buy their story. But having seen example after example of their actual actions, regardless of their words, I see people not fighting actual infringement, but simply trying to stifle competition.
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it makes your head all explodey don't it?
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They had a beta last year and were to start the service this year in the first quarter, I think that why the feds had to take them down in what looks to be a very fast investigation.
If mega forced the speedy trial statute the fed case would fall apart.
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They just go and download the "Hulu downloader", "Bluray ripper" and so forth, if SOPA was in place they would just have to install the "PirateDNSNow!".
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I keep stating this, but it keeps being relevant: out of all of my coworkers and friends, almost all of which are professional engineers that make IP for a living and are relatively young (almost all are under 30), only 1 of them thinks piracy is a serious problem, and perhaps a majority of them pirate shamelessly. I'd wager all of them know off the top of their heads (or could figure out without much effort) how to evade SOPA/PIPA measures.
My mom, on the other hand... has trouble finding the power button on their computer. My dad isn't near as bad, but would still be completely clueless how to circumvent those laws.
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SOPA won't stop piracy, people will quickly figure out ways around it, but the damages caused (disappearing websites, chilling effects on innovation, compromised internet security, etc) can't be circumvented by anyone.
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Your average citizen probably would, if they're tech-savvy enough. Of course, the end result would just be the criminalization of the vast majority of Internet users.
But the ones who would suffer the most from SOPA/PIPA are the ones who actually obey the law. The search engines, advertisers, and so forth who would be forced by law to shoulder the burdens of other companies' failures. Not to mention damaging Internet security, and showing the world that the U.S. is A-OK with governments controlling the free flow of information.
We've already seen the chilling effects merely from the Megaupload seizure and arrests. Because of that, sites are eliminating functionality - search functions, rewards programs, affiliate programs, sometimes even the ability to share any files, legal or not - which have never been found to be unlawful in the U.S.
SOPA/PIPA would have had horrible effects on the internet, the economy, and U.S. foreign interests, probably without affecting piracy very much, and absolutely without earning rights holders a penny.
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I'm writing an economics paper and it deals with piracy and just how big a problem it is or isn't.
I have been looking for figures you presented awhile back, in regards to how much the entertainment industries contribute to the GDP and how much the tech industry contributes.
If memory serves me correctly, the entertainment industries contribute less than 1% and the tech industry contributes between 10 and 15%.
Per chance, would it be too much trouble to post a link to where you found that figure. Or a link to your own comment if possible.
Sorry for the off topic comment everyone.
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That sounds about right, but it wasn't me who said it.
Most recently, I was talking about employment figures, which are different than GDP. The figures I gave were all from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook:
http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco2003.htm
You'll find a lot of data there, much of it in convenient XLS form.
Here are some questions you should deal with:
- Raw employment numbers, by industry
- Part-time v. full-time employment
- Average wages (the BLS site gives median wages, they may have average wages in the XLS's)
There are some other, more difficult, questions:
- Ancillary industries. Both record store clerks and computer salespeople are lumped into "Retail," for example. This is the primary area where the entertainment industry inflates its employment figures (e.g. counting every member of the Teamsters as being employed by the industry). In contrast, a study by the University of Maryland (PDF) claims that Facebook alone accounts for about 180,000 ancillary jobs created.
- What portion of each industry is potentially affected by piracy. Screen and TV actors, for instance, might be; but stage actors absolutely would not.
Hope this helps. Post a link to your study when you're done.
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Forgot one: estimated growth rates. Entertainment industry jobs are expected to grow at the same rate as other industries; tech industry jobs are expected to grow much, much faster.
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I haven't gotten to writing the paper just yet, I'm still in the preliminary gathering information stage. I have about 8 weeks before it's due. I should add, it's not a study so much per se as just an essay about economics, preferably with a recent issue/topic as the focus of it. It seemed with SOPA and all the anti-piracy rhetoric lately, the best thing to do on my part (even if it's just for school and won't be read by anyone but my teacher and possibly fellow classmates) would be to write about the issue with a stance on informing those who aren't aware as much as possible (in regards to the disinformation or flat out lies told by the entertainment industry, ranging from economic harm to jobs lost and whatnot). I will however post a link when I am done with it.
Appreciate the help/links though, thanks sir.
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